Atomos has announced a firmware update to their flagship 7″ monitor/recorder.
Atom OS v8.3 finally bringsthe Dual and Quad-link SDI support promised upon the initial release of the Shogun Inferno, in addition to a new Secure Erase feature and 120p 4K raw burst recording for selected Sony cameras.
The Atomos Shogun Inferno was announced around NAB last year, a new flagship model that brought in 4K 60p and quad/dual link support over its predecessor. Now, a year later we finally see the latter USP fulfilled in this latest firmware update.
This means you will finally be able to put all those BNC ports on the back of the Shogun Inferno to good use. And not only this, but if you’re a Sony FS5/FS700 owner you’ll also benefit from a new Sony FS Raw to ProRes 4Kp100/120 burst recording feature.
The new Secure Erase is self-explanatory: If you shoot sensitive data that really needs to be wiped then you have an extra level of security with the new feature. Not that formatting a drive previously was deemed unsafe, but data recovery software could in theory be used in these cases. This new feature will work with Sandisk Extreme Pro drives as well as Atomos-branded G-Tech and Angelbird media.
More on that new quad & dual link feature: the Shogun Inferno will now offer some support to the following cameras via 2 or 4 SDI streams in ProRes/DNx:
Quad-Link (Squared & 2SI):
AJA CION
Canon C700
Panasonic Varicam 35
RED DCSM1 with REDCast Module – Epic & Scarlet Dragon (Mysterium X not supported)
Sony PMW-F55
Sony PMW-F5 + CBKZ-55FX 4K expand option
Sony F65RS + CA-4000 + SKC-4065 + BPU-4000 (for studio camera configuration)
Sony HDC-4800 (4K studio camera and CCU)
Sony HDC-4300(4K studio camera and CCU)
Toshiba IK-4K
Dual-Link:
Canon C500 2Kp60
Panasonic Varicam LT – 10bit Dual Link RAW
I was disappointed when purchasing a Shogun Inferno last year for the Canon C500 (which has now been officially discontinued) to find that dual-link SDI was not enabled, so it’s nice to see that this feature is finally available. It will be interesting to see just how much support it has for the Canon old boy, as 4K dual-link is not listed and there is no 12-bit support.
Whilst my own interest in the C500 support is quite niche these days, what a wider audience can take away is acute consideration of camera/recorder pairing. Read past the glossy specification lists; research whether a system really can do what you want it to.
It seems like more and more camera manufacturers are diverting attention to what a new camera can offer in terms of output rather than internal capture, but it’s taking time for third-party recorders to catch up; there really is a lack of accessible, competitive support in that side of the market.
Here’s the full release notes.
Download Atom OS 8.3 for the Atomos Shogun Inferno here.